Beside him Abby’s shoulders relaxed a little. ‘Right then, we’d better get inside. You two need to get on with your homework.’
‘Is Doug coming in?’
He’d forgotten how straightforward children were. ‘Thank you, but I don’t want to get in the way.’
‘You wouldn’t be.’ Abby flushed again, though this time she was able to meet his eyes. ‘Besides, the least we can do after all your help is give you a cup of tea. No, you don’t do tea, do you? Coffee. We can make you a coffee. That is if you want a drink. Of course we’ve probably taken up too much of your time and if you need to go back to the office—’
‘A cup of coffee would be great. Thank you.’
She bit her bottom lip. ‘Good. Well, come on in.’
Doug followed the troop inside the house and made his way into the sitting area, straightening up the coffee table. The room seemed to reflect the family. Bright, buzzing with energy, cluttered but clean. As he settled onto the tomato red sofa all he could hear was a wall of noise. A dog barking, a baby crying, girls chatting away at the top of their voices with nobody listening.
‘Here you go.’ Abby walked towards him carrying a large pink mug. ‘Sorry about the colour. I guess that’s the trouble with having a house full of girls.’
‘One of the lesser troubles,’ he murmured, trying not to wince as Abby put the cup straight onto the wooden table. ‘Don’t you ever use coasters?’
‘What, those stupid little things that get in the way and collect dust? Why would I?’ She perched her neat backside on the back of the armchair. ‘Furniture is meant to be used. What’s the point of a table if you can’t put anything on it?’
He couldn’t fault her logic.
As he went to pick up the mug a furry object with a wet nose plonked itself between his legs and Abby laughed. ‘Sorry, you’ll have to excuse Pat. He’s so grateful for a male visitor he sometimes forgets his manners.’
Doug scratched the dog’s black ears and received a sloppy lick in return. ‘So this is home life for you?’ He nodded in the direction of the open plan kitchen where the noise level was surely over the advisable decibel level.
‘It certainly is. Though usually without the thugs. And by that I meant the two guys you scared off. Not my sisters.’
He felt his lips twitch. ‘I imagine Ellie might pack a mean punch when she’s older.’
Abby gave him a flash of the grin that always brightened his day. ‘You’ve got her worked out already.’
From the kitchen came a loud hissed whisper. ‘You ask him.’
A glance confirmed it was the dymanic duo of Holly and Ellie. ‘Ask me what?’
‘Will we get free biscuits now Abby works for you?’
‘Ellie.’ Abby cut in sharply. It was the first time Doug had seen her looking cross. ‘That’s rude. You don’t ask questions like that.’
To her credit, Ellie looked chagrined. ‘Sorry.’
‘Hey, it’s fine,’ he reassured. ‘I should have told Abby this at the start. We don’t give biscuits away but if your sister goes to the staff shop she can pick up some cheap misshapes that didn’t pass quality control. Wonky Wafer Wonders, Duff Dream Delights and Not Very Crunchy Crunches.’
The girls let out a satisfying peal of sniggers and Doug found he was smiling again. It was almost as if, having rediscovered the art since Abby had joined the firm, his mouth now expected to smile.
‘I was wrong before,’ Abby told him when the girls had disappeared back to the kitchen. ‘You do have a sense of humour. It’s actually pretty funny, too.’
He wasn’t sure what to say to that so he swallowed back the rest of his coffee. ‘Well, thanks for the drink.’ He was about to stand when he had a thought. ‘I’ve just realised your car’s still at work. Do you want a lift back now?’
‘Heavens no, you’ve been put out enough already. I’ll catch the bus in tomorrow, or get Dad to give me a lift.’
He felt a tug of disappointment at not being able to spend some more time alone with her, then thought back to their kiss. Better this way. Safer. ‘Right then. I’d better leave you to your evening.’
As he stood, so did Abby. Their bodies almost touched, might as well have done from the zing that rushed through him. Damn he wanted to hold her gorgeous face and kiss her again. Wanted it so, so much. Did she know what was going through his mind? Maybe she did because her tongue crept out and licked at her lips, which did nothing to quell the desire pulsing through him.
Playing with fire wasn’t in his nature though so he took a deliberate step back, making sure there was no danger of them actually touching.
‘Mr Faulkner? Doug?’ Mandy’s voice from the kitchen was a welcome distraction. He glanced up to find her elbowing Roger sharply in the ribs.
Roger coughed. ‘Err, can I walk out with you?’
‘Sure.’ Doug shot Abby the quickest of glances – he didn’t want his libido firing again. ‘I’ll see you tomorrow.’ He followed it by a longer glance at the girls in the kitchen who were staring at him thinking God knows what. Supply of cheap biscuits. Creepy boss man who snogged their sister. ‘Nice to meet you. Have a good evening.’
They were halfway down the drive before Roger spoke. ‘I, umm, well, thanks for what you did. You know, sorting out Quinn and Wayne. I dunno what would have happened if you hadn’t come round.’
As he wanted Roger to think about what might have been, Doug made a play of taking the fob out of his pocket and unlocking the car. Opening the door. With one arm resting on the car roof, he finally looked at the gangling half-boy, half-man standing awkwardly next to him. ‘How old are you?’
‘Twenty.’
Doug felt ancient beside him. ‘Young to be a father.’
‘I suppose.’
‘George looks to be quite a kid. Handsome face. Good set of lungs.’
A brief smile flitted across Roger’s face. ‘Yeah. Looks are his mother’s. The lungs are probably mine.’
‘Being a dad is about more than supplying DNA though. It’s about being a protector and provider. A role model.’ Doug thought of his own father, all too aware of the irony of his statement.
‘Yeah, I know.’
‘When you decide to man up to your responsibilities, give me a call.’ He slid a business card out of his wallet. ‘I’ll find you a job.’
Roger’s jaw dropped. ‘You would? After all that shit … sorry, the stuff that just happened?’
‘I know what it’s like to think there’s no way out. That this is your lot in life. But it isn’t. There are always other options. Other directions you can go in. As long as you’re prepared to take a leap of faith.’ He nodded to his card. ‘Your son needs a father. Show him, and his mother, you’ve got what it takes to fulfill that role.’
With that he eased into the driver’s seat and started up the engine, wondering where the hell his own leap of faith was going to come from. Right now he felt so cornered he wasn’t sure he’d see a way out even if it was labelled ‘Exit’ in big flashing lights.
Abby stared out of the window as the sleek, grey car shot off down their road, wondering what Doug had said to Roger. Wondering too, how such a mild-mannered man had managed to dispatch two thugs in less time than it took her to make a cup of tea. Most of all though, she wondered about …
‘Oh my God, Abs. The girls tell me you and Doug shared a hot smooch on the driveway.’
Exactly that. Abby wondered why he’d kissed her. ‘We did, yes.’
Mandy shifted George onto her hip. ‘And that’s it? Can’t have been much good if—’
‘It was everything.’ For a second Abby closed her eyes, remembering. It had been a kiss of gentle persuasion. Of heat and lust. Of dreams and fantasies.
When she blinked her eyes open again, Mandy’s own eyes were nearly popping out of their sockets. ‘Oh crap. You’re doing what I told you not to, aren’t you? You’re falling for him.’
‘I’m not.’ Liar. ‘What was all that with Roger?’
she asked, deflecting the focus. ‘I saw you dig him in the ribs.’
‘I told him he needed to go and thank your boss for helping him out of a hole. Bringing those twits into our house. What the hell was he thinking? Oh, wait, he wasn’t thinking, was he?’ Her voice rose and she stared sadly down at her son. ‘He never flaming thinks, does he, George? Sometimes I wonder why I still bother with him at all. He’s such a loser.’
Abby studied her sister carefully. ‘Maybe because you still have feelings for him.’
Mandy raised her eyes to the ceiling and let out a half-sob, half-sigh. ‘Yeah, probably. So what does that make me?’
‘Warm-hearted though slightly foolish?’
‘I guess I should thank you for the slightly.’ She planted a kiss on George’s head. ‘I hope this little man grows up better than his father.’
Abby remembered Roger’s face when she and Doug had first entered the house. He’d looked terrified. Stunned and shocked by what he was witnessing. ‘You know I’ve never been sure about Roger but maybe this has been a wake-up call for him. A sharp reminder of how he’ll end up if he doesn’t pull himself together.’
‘We can only hope.’ Once again she jiggled George. ‘It’s your man we should be talking about, though. All those quick, deadly moves. I couldn’t believe it. He had those two gits on the floor without breaking sweat. I know they say still waters run deep, but wow.’
‘Umm.’ Abby flicked at a bit of fluff on her skirt, trying not to act like the girl with a big fat crush. ‘I don’t think he’s as quiet as he first appears.’
‘Especially not if he can kiss like you say.’
Oh God, she daren’t go there again. ‘I’m sure it was just a reaction to the moment. They say adrenaline can fire a man up. By the time he’d calmed down and had a drink he was pretty anxious to escape.’
‘So would you be if you’d stumbled into this oestrogen-laden mad house for the first time.’
Abby had a sudden image of Doug being thrown into a den of lionesses, complete with frilly pink tutus, and burst into laughter. ‘You’re not wrong there.’ She reached out to her nephew. ‘Come on, little man. Let your aunt have a cuddle while your mum sorts out the tea.’
George threw his dumpy arms out and Mandy handed him over with a sigh of resignation. ‘I guess that’s fair. You and Batman did swoop in and save the day, after all.’
As Abby snuggled down onto the sofa with George, cooing over him and making him giggle, she wished men were as easy to fathom as babies.
Chapter Ten
The following day Doug bid Abby a rather formal good morning, and a further brief thanks when she delivered his coffee. In between those two high spots he was quiet and distant. As if the day before had never happened. As if he hadn’t pulled her to him and kissed her until she’d been panting and breathless.
Each time she snuck a look into his office he had his eyes glued to his computer screen. While that was usual for most bosses, it wasn’t for hers. She had a strong feeling Doug didn’t like his job. When he spoke about it his eyes turned flat, a direct contrast to the way they’d lit up when she’d mentioned his paintings.
With a small sigh she crooked her head around the corner. There he was, still engrossed in his computer. Was he playing solitaire? Gambling? Watching porn? She’d like to bet he wasn’t working. More like keeping his head down so she wouldn’t go in and mention THE KISS.
Well, she’d given him a night and a morning to stew over it. Now it was time to talk.
Standing in his open doorway, she cleared her throat. ‘Have you got a minute?’ Her pulse scrambled as she became the focus of a pair of direct blue eyes.
‘Sure.’ He minimised whatever he’d been staring at on his screen.
‘Do you mind if I close the door?’
His lids lowered a fraction, blocking whatever he was thinking, though Abby was hard pressed to read him even when he was looking straight at her. ‘Be my guest.’
The atmosphere in the office changed from formal to crashingly intimate as the door clicked shut. Because she was terrified he might think she was about to jump him, Abby spoke quickly. ‘I wanted to talk about yesterday.’
He leant back slightly on his chair. ‘What about it?’
She took the coward’s way and started off on the easy topic. ‘First I wanted to thank you again. The way you took on those two guys, it was like something off the television. Even more shocking coming from someone … umm.’ She cursed her big mouth. She should have stopped at thank you.
He frowned. ‘Someone?’
‘Someone like you,’ she blurted. ‘And before you get all twitchy, I actually meant it as a compliment. You seem too calm and controlled to be a fighter.’
‘Maybe it’s the other way round.’
‘What do you mean?’
‘I’m calm and controlled because I let off my steam elsewhere. Like the training gym.’
An image of his back, complete with Geraldine’s scratch marks, pinged unwanted into her mind. She bet that was another way he let off steam. ‘Okay then.’ She paused, inhaling a deep breath. ‘Now we come to the second thing. Are we going to talk about that kiss? Or are you planning on pushing it under the carpet and forgetting about it?’
He cleared his throat. ‘The latter.’
‘I see.’ It was what she’d expected, she reminded herself. ‘So I don’t even warrant an I’m sorry, Abby, it meant nothing. It was a mistake.’
‘I can’t say I’m sorry when I’m not.’
‘You’re not?’
‘No. And a kiss like that can never mean nothing.’ Her heart went into free fall as his eyes met and held hers. ‘But it was still a mistake.’
‘Because you’re with Geraldine.’ She could barely force the words from her throat.
‘No. Geraldine and I are no longer … meeting up.’
Oh boy, this conversation was littered with bombshells. ‘Why not?’ Hastily she shook her head. ‘No, sorry, that’s none of my business.’
‘Considering I kissed you yesterday I would say it is your business. Geraldine and I had run its course. I realised the night of that fateful offsite meeting.’
‘Seems it was the day to call things off then. Deals and relationships.’
‘Yes. Both had turned sour.’
Abby twisted her hands together, thinking about whether to say what was on her mind.
His eyes captured their movement and he gave her a tolerant smile. ‘You don’t normally hold back on giving me your thoughts.’
‘No, I don’t, but this is … well, it’s very personal. I enjoy working here. I don’t want anything to ruin that.’
A muted curse left his lips and he dragged a hand through his hair. ‘Nothing you say will ruin our working relationship. I’m the one at fault here. I shouldn’t have pushed myself onto you like that. I’m your boss. How could you say no?’
‘I didn’t want to say no.’
A slight twitch of his lips. ‘I’m glad. But it doesn’t make what I did right.’
‘It does if I enjoyed it. Especially if I wanted you to do it again.’ Hastily she bit her tongue, but of course it was too late. The words were out there.
It was several nerve wracking, ego busting seconds before he finally replied. ‘I’m not going to do it again, Abby.’
‘Oh.’ Well, that told her. And what had she been doing, thinking he might, anyway? He was the startlingly handsome heir to a multimillion pound business. He was hardly going to make do with her when he was bound to have much better offers.
‘Don’t get me wrong,’ he added. ‘It’s not that I don’t want to. Just that it’s better for you if I don’t.’
Her heart stuck on the words it’s not that I don’t want to. ‘Better for me?’
‘I’m not the man you think I am.’
He looked so serious, she was hard pressed not to laugh. ‘You mean you’re really an axe wielding psychopath masquerading as the son of Lord and Lady Faulkner?’
&nbs
p; Immediately his face slammed shut. ‘Something like that. Now, if you’ve finished, I need to get on.’
Doug watched Abby make her way back to her desk, her stiff body language telling him all he needed to know about what she thought of his curt dismissal. Damn it, she had no idea how close to the mark she’d come with her throwaway comment. Masquerading as the son of Lord Faulkner was spot on, and though he’d never wielded an axe, he had used his fists. As for the psychopath, he might not be one, but he was a long way from the level-headed boss she believed him to be.
Turning back to his computer screen, Doug maximized the window he’d been looking at. He’d spent most of the morning going through photographs of his canvases and deciding which would go best together for his exhibition at Luke’s gallery. As he clicked through his nearly-final selection he dimly heard female voices in the background.
Moments later Abby reappeared in his doorway. Reluctantly he minimised his screen again.
‘Geraldine’s here to see you. She hasn’t got an appointment but she says you’ll know what it’s about.’
He winced at Abby’s cool tone. ‘Thank you.’
Her eyes gave away her feelings. She was annoyed Geraldine hadn’t told her what it was about and suspected the matter wasn’t work related. The devil in him couldn’t help but feel oddly chuffed at her small display of jealousy. Though he wasn’t going to encourage any relationship it was an ego boost knowing the attraction wasn’t one-sided.
Geraldine swept into his office, instantly filling it with the scent of her perfume. As always she was dressed like sex on legs. He found he could appreciate the view without feeling any desire to re-kindle what they’d had. Sex for the sake of sex was no longer what he wanted. It wasn’t really what she wanted either, he suspected.
She perched on his desk, giving him a full view of toned thigh wrapped in silk stocking. He knew she was wearing stockings not because he could see them, but because he knew her.
‘Missing me yet?’ she asked, her voice thankfully quiet.
‘How can I be, when here you are?’
‘Ah, but we both know what I meant.’
Oh Crumbs Page 10
